The analysts say that only around 25,000 HD DVD players have been sold so far this year in Europe. That pales in comparison to the 405,000 Blu-ray players that have been sold - if you include the PlayStation 3 in the mix.

But in terms of standalone units, the HD DVD Group says that its players make up 74 per cent of the market. And so that means that only around 8,000 standalone Blu-ray players can have been sold in total since January.

No wonder the two camps have been reluctant to release official sales figures.

There is no HD format war

So when it comes down to it, 8,000 standalone Blu-ray players against 25,000 HD DVD players can hardly be called a war or a battle. It's more like handbags at dawn, with the rest of us too busy watching DVDs to take any notice at all.